Seattle, WA
Why Anthony Bradford won Seattle Seahawks' battle at RG
The battle at right guard is settled for the Seattle Seahawks – at least for now.
Seattle Seahawks rule out 2 key players for Sunday’s game vs Rams
After several weeks of splitting time with rookie Christian Haynes, the Seahawks are rolling with Anthony Bradford as their full-time right guard Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams.
Offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb told reporters Thursday that Bradford earned the job with recently improved play, including in last week’s loss to the Buffalo Bills.
“I thought he did a better job finishing, his execution was better and he had a really good week of practice,” Grubb said. “I thought that was something that showed up in the game. He certainly wasn’t perfect by any stretch. He’s still working through stuff as a young player, but he’s finishing harder and he’s playing with better pad level and he’s starting to live up to some of the things we think he can do.”
Bradford had been getting the bulk of the playing time at the position, logging at least 60% of the team’s offensive snaps in the six games (Weeks 2 and 4-8) he split time with Haynes. And according to Pro Football Focus, the second-year offensive lineman is coming off his two best performances of the season.
In Seattle’s Week 7 win over Atlanta, Bradford posted a season-best 67.2 overall grade and career-best 87.0 pass-blocking grade. He received the second-highest overall grade of any Seahawks O-linemen and didn’t allow a pressure for the second time this season
In last week’s loss to Buffalo, Bradford earned a 65.3 overall grade with 67.9 run-blocking mark, which were each his second-best grades of the season.
Additionally, the LSU product’s penalty problem has subsided after a brutal first three weeks. Bradford committed a team-high seven penalties in the first three games, but hasn’t been flagged since.
Bradford holds an overall grade of 51.1 with a 57.3 in run blocking and 51.1 in pass blocking in 434 snaps this season. He’s allowed a total of 20 pressures and four sacks.
Meanwhile, Haynes’ performance has graded out slightly less favorably. In 104 snaps, he sports an overall grade of 48.0 with a 50.1 in run blocking in 53.3 in pass blocking. The 2024 third-round pick has allowed four pressures and one sack and committed two penalties.
Brock weighs in on RG decision
During his Blue 88 segment on Thursday, former NFL quarterback Brock Huard shared his thoughts on why the Seahawks are rolling with Bradford as the full-time right guard.
Huard feels that the size and strength the 6-foot-4, 332-pound Bradford possess is distinct advantage over the 6-foot-2, 313-pound Haynes.
“It’s just the difference between (a baseball pitcher) 92 (mph) velo and 100 velo,” Huard said. “(Bradford is) athletic, he’s strong, he’s got a massive, massive frame and he’s pretty athletic with it. When he’s disciplined, when he’s conditioned, when he’s on point, when he’s … intentional about all of that, the upside and the skill set is just much better than Christian.
“And they’ve given him opportunities, but he has just been physically – this being Haynes – too many times physically overwhelmed, and Bradford’s not necessarily been physically overwhelmed.”
With that being said, Huard still sees plenty of work to be done on Bradford’s end.
“I think he has been, at times, mentally overwhelmed to do the right thing all the time,” Huard said. “So this is going to give Bradford every opportunity to maximize (his) talent. When we speak of talent, talent that is there, more talent than Christian Haynes has, but certainly a discipline that’s got to grow an awful lot.”
Listen to Brock Huard’s Blue 88 at this link or in the audio player in this story. Tune in to Brock and Salk weekdays from 6-10 a.m. or find the podcast on the Seattle Sports app.
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Seattle, WA
Seattle Sounders stun LAFC to reach Western Conference Final | MLSSoccer.com
Seattle Sounders FC have reached the Western Conference Final in the Audi 2024 MLS Cup Playoffs, completing a thrilling 2-1 comeback victory over LAFC in Saturday’s elimination match at BMO Stadium.
Sounders striker Jordan Morris scored a 109th-minute winner in the second extra-time period, ending his team’s 10-game winless streak against the Black & Gold (stretching back to May 2021). Stefan Frei was also immense for the Sounders, making nine saves to repeatedly frustrate Denis Bouanga and his teammates.
Before Morris’ dramatics, Seattle clawed back into the game when Maxime Chanot failed to clear Obed Vargas’ centering pass and scored an own goal. That equalizer followed Ryan Hollingshead opening the scoring in the 50th minute, one-timing home Mateusz Bogusz’s low cross near the penalty spot.
Up next, Seattle will face the winner of Sunday’s Western Conference Semifinal between LA Galaxy and Minnesota United FC (6 pm ET | MLS Season Pass; FS1, FOX Deportes). Their Conference Final is set for Nov. 30; Seattle (No. 4) will travel if LA (No. 2) advance and host if Minnesota (No. 6) complete yet another upset.
Goals
- 50′ – LAFC – Ryan Hollingshead | WATCH
- 59′ – SEA – Maxime Chanot (OG) | WATCH
- 109′ – SEA – Jordan Morris | WATCH
Seattle, WA
Seattle Sounders vs. Los Angeles FC LIVE STREAM (10/28/24): Watch MLS Playoffs online | Time, TV, channel for soccer game
Seattle Sounders faces Los Angeles FC in an MLS Playoff game on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 (11/23/24) at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California.
HOW TO WATCH: Fans can watch on Apple TV+, via a subscription to the MLS Season Pass.
Here’s what you need to know:
What: MLS game
Who: Seattle Sounders vs. Los Angeles FC
When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024 (11/23/24)
Time: 10:30 p.m. ET
Where: BMO Stadium
TV: N/A
Live stream: Apple TV+
Here’s a recent AP story on MLS:
Seattle Sounders FC (16-9-9, fourth in the Western Conference during the regular season) vs. Los Angeles FC (19-8-7, first in the Conference during the regular season)
Los Angeles; Saturday, 10:30 p.m. EST
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: LAFC -107, Seattle +271; over/under is 2.5 goals
BOTTOM LINE: Los Angeles FC looks for its 20th win of the season when it faces the Seattle Sounders.
LAFC is 18-8-6 in conference games. LAFC ranks fourth in the Western Conference with 63 goals led by Denis Bouanga with 21.
The Sounders are 12-8-10 against Western Conference teams. The Sounders are 7-1-2 when they score a pair of goals.
The teams meet Saturday for the second time this season. LAFC won the last meeting 3-0.
TOP PERFORMERS: Bouanga has scored 21 goals and added 10 assists for LAFC. Kei Kamara has two assists over the past 10 games.
Jordan Morris has 13 goals and four assists for the Sounders. Albert Rusnak has scored five goals over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: LAFC: 7-2-1, averaging 1.6 goals, 5.2 shots on goal and 6.4 corner kicks per game while allowing 1.1 goals per game.
Sounders: 5-1-4, averaging 1.5 goals, 3.8 shots on goal and 6.8 corner kicks per game while allowing 0.5 goals per game.
NOT EXPECTED TO PLAY: LAFC: Lorenzo Dellavalle (injured).
Sounders: Cody Baker (injured), Jacob Castro (injured), Danny Musovski (injured), Jordan Morris (injured), Albert Rusnak (injured).
Seattle, WA
Insider: What to watch from Seattle Seahawks' Week 12 opponent
After a big win over the San Francisco 49ers, the Seattle Seahawks are set for another important divisional clash.
Macdonald previews Seattle Seahawks’ pivotal NFC West clash vs Cardinals
The Seahawks host the NFC West-leading Arizona Cardinals (6-4) with a chance to move into at least a tie for first place in the division. Seattle (5-5) is currently in a three-way tie for second place with both the 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams.
If Seattle can pull off the win and both San Francisco and Los Angeles lose, it would take over sole possession of first place via the head-to-head tiebreaker over Arizona. The Seahawks and Cardinals meet again on Dec. 8.
The Cardinals, winners of four straight, are one of the surprise teams in the league this season. After finishing in a four-way tie for the second-worst record in the league last season, they’ve already surpassed their four wins from a season ago and have their latest division lead since being tied for first with the Rams in Week 15 of the 2021 season.
With Arizona on the docket for the first time this season, AZCardinals.com senior writer Darren Urban shared his insight on the Cardinals with Stacy Rost and Seahawks Radio Network analysts Michael Bumpus and Dave Wyman during The Huddle on Seattle Sports’ Bump and Stacy.
Kyler Murray playing at a high level
Arizona has been much improved on offense with dual-threat quarterback Kyler Murray fully healthy, but that shouldn’t come as much of a surprise.
With Murray out for the first nine weeks of last season, the Cardinals stumbled to a 1-8 start while averaging just 16.8 points per game. After his return, they went 3-5 while averaging 22.8 points.
Murray is playing at a high level this year in his first full season since tearing his ACL in December of the 2022 season. He’s completing passes at a career-high 69.2% clip with 2,058 yards, 12 touchdowns and three interceptions, while adding another 371 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.
“I don’t know if I’ll necessarily call it a career year yet. (We) obviously still got half the season to go, but he’s definitely in a different space than he’s been in before,” Urban said. “He might have had more gaudy numbers once upon a time, but he fits so well in the offense that they’re running here with offensive coordinator Drew Petzing, and the fact that it’s kind of coming together at a perfect time, really kind of escalates how he looks and how he’s performing. Don’t get me wrong, Kyler is playing at a very high level right now. They just don’t always need him to be Superman like he once was.”
Arizona is tied for 11th in scoring this season at 23.8 points per game with Murray leading the charge. Part of what’s made him so effective this year is his improved ability to take care of the football. He’s on pace for a career-low 1.1% interception rate.
“He’s done a really good job of taking care of the football,” Urban said. “When you add that in with the least amount of penalties the Cardinals have got – the Cardinals have the fewest amount of penalties of anybody in the NFL – that goes a long way in helping you try and win games. So Kyler Murray is in a good place right now. He’s 100% back from the knee injury from a couple of years ago. He looks like it when he moves around. He’s throwing the ball exceptionally well. And this offense is coming around.”
The ‘heart and soul’ of Arizona’s offense
While Murray’s play has been key, Urban described veteran running back James Conner as the “heart and soul of the offense.”
“Since (head coach) Jonathan Gannon came in, they prefer to be a run-first offense,” Urban said. “(It) doesn’t mean they won’t throw, to the contrary, but in a perfect world James Conner is getting the ball a lot and they are grinding out yards on the ground.”
The 29-year-old Conner has been a versatile weapon for Arizona this season and is 11th in the NFL with 944 yards from scrimmage. He’s rushed for 697 yards and five touchdowns on 4.4 yards per carry and added another 247 yards on 24 receptions. The Pittsburgh product has eclipsed 100 yards rushing in four games and produced at least 100 yards from scrimmage in six.
“The way he plays football feels very old-school. It feels very 1977 kind of feel to it as a running back, and you don’t get that a lot anymore. When he does well, it does seem to energize this entire team,” Urban said. “Not a lot of people know James Conner – most (do) from his years in Pittsburgh – but there’s no question that he has played his best football since he came to Arizona in these last couple of years. Even as he’s getting older as a running back, he seems to be getting better.”
The combination of Conner and Murray in the running game means this Cardinals squad is better suited for the chilly conditions it’s set to face Sunday in Seattle.
“If they’re playing the game that they want to play, they’re going to be able to control the ball on offense a little bit and they’re going to be able to run it,” Urban said. “One of the things that has always kind of … followed this team where it plays, if you go back to the heydays of the Kurt Warner Cardinals, is they can win if they’re not in a dome. … This team can do that.”
Improving defense
After being among the league’s worst defenses last season, the Cardinals have resembled more of a league-average unit this season under second-year defensive coordinator Nick Rallis.
The biggest strides the unit has made have come against the run. Arizona was last in the NFL in rushing defense last season and is up to 19th in 2024. The defense also has been better at forcing turnovers, jumping from tied for 27th to tied for 16th with 11 so far this season.
The Cardinals are coming off two of their best defensive performances, allowing a combined 15 points and no touchdowns in wins over Chicago Bears and New York Jets.
“The last two games where they haven’t given up a touchdown, you’re playing at home, you’re playing against the Jets and the Bears – two teams that I’m pretty sure are not going to be going anywhere past the end of the regular season, so you have to factor in some context,” Urban said. “But this team was always defensively about doing a solid job and hopefully having the offense pick them up in spots.
“What has happened over this four-game winning streak in a lot of ways is the defense has done more than just hold its own, and that’s an important factor when you talk about a group that doesn’t have a lot of big names.”
With that being said, the unit is still susceptible to give up yards. It’s just been good at limiting points in the red zone, ranking ninth in the league with an opponents’ red-zone touchdown percentage of just 48.6%.
“(The defense is) an area of the roster that I’m sure (general manger) Monti Ossenfort wants to continue to upgrade, but they are playing at a pretty high level and it’s kind of the epitome of bend but not break,” Urban said. “I mean, they’re going to give up some yards, but they’ve been keeping teams out of the end zone, and that’s gone a long way for them to win games.”
Listen to the full conversation at this link or in the audio player near the top of this story. Tune in to The Huddle from noon-2 p.m. on Thursday’s before Sunday Seahawks games for two full hours of in-depth coverage on the team.
More on the Seattle Seahawks
• Rost: What Seattle Seahawks face vs Cards with NFC West lead in play
• Salk: Seahawks’ Macdonald just may be the ‘Shanahan tree killer’
• Why three rising Seahawks players are standing out to Daniel Jeremiah
• Bump goes inside JSN’s breakout stretch for Seattle Seahawks
• Seattle Seahawks make four roster moves as Week 12 preparation begins
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